What’s more interesting to me is what all the buzz over DK tells me. We are asymmetrically skeptical. In the same way as intelligent people doubt their own performance, they rightly doubt others’ performance. Maybe too much.
I think that most people who talk a lot about DK believe that they are the experts in one field or another.
It serves mostly as a way of reassuring themselves of their own superiority. The message (for them) basically amounts to "other people's claim to knowledge is just further proof that they don't know anything."
It’s a zero-effort, zero-evidence-required way for people to disparage others, in a way that they believe makes them sound smart. It’s also basically unfalsifiable in most of the cases where it’s referenced.
I feel like I’m honestly yet to see somebody make DK accusations in a way that’s not totally cringe.
> I think that most people who talk a lot about DK believe that they are the experts in one field or another.
I recall that either Dunning or Kruger once made a remark to that effect. That rather than an indictment of stupid people, it would be better to view it as a warning to those who consider themselves the smart ones.
I feel like there's a bit of a paradox here. The more I internalize how easy it is for us to be overconfident in our intelligence, the more confident I feel in my intelligence...
It's called a giant fucking lack of self awareness, with a good helping of societally instilled narcissism on the worst side of it all, and then add in imposter syndrome, self righteousness and gaslighting. The best side of it all basically is all of these things, but with a tight leash on things and sans the gaslighting. There might be better, but those people are probably off doing their own thing minding their own business; etc.
